1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the art of embalming. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods for maintaining and/or restoring the appearance of a cadaver to as near lifelike proportions and contours as possible.
2. Description of Related Art
In the embalming arts, one of the more difficult problems confronting the embalmer in preparing a cadaver for final appearance is to give the exposed areas of the body lifelike qualities either by preserving the appearance of a body which has not suffered matter changes prior to death or by restoring the features of the body which have undergone distortion, emaciation or swelling prior to death to as near the original normal condition as possible.
Many difficulties may arise in positioning a body as embalming fluids are injected as the initial stiffness of the muscles due to rigor mortis leaves. The embalming fluids create a final firmness and stiffening of the body after injection, but other processing of the cadaver needs to be done as well, such as forming the cheeks and lips with various products, so that the mortician frequently is unable to satisfactorily position each portion of the body as it sets in firmness. This typically results in unforeseen and unnatural positions of the body, particularly head, limb and finger positions, which is a source of much extra work and effort to resoften the limb or other portion of the body.
Furthermore, a body in a posthumous state typically suffers from edema, i.e., swelling, especially in the face and the extremities. Edema is an excessive accumulation of fluid that has entered the body tissues from the circulation. The resultant swelling may be local, associated with an injury or inflammation, or general, as occurs in heart or kidney failure. The degree and location of swelling varies depending on the particular cadaver and cause of death. For example, swelling can be caused by events that occur prior to or after death, such as congestive heart failure, intravenous fluid intake, poor circulation, organ transplantation, kidney failure, renal failure, or swelling from the embalming process because of impedance due to blood clots or from the embalming process itself.
Current techniques used to handle the above-described difficulties have been to position body parts of the cadaver with the use of blocks, but they have proved difficult to handle and blocks of many sizes and heights need to be provided, with no single block sufficing in all cases, because of the unequal firming of the various portions of the body. Further, blocks and other positioning devices typically cause some degree of pinching or distortion of the body parts contacted.
Other techniques typically used to reduce pitting edema include the use of cold water on cotton that is pressure applied to a body part; special embalming fluid; aspiration of the excess body fluid; elevation of the extremities; application of towels or straps, such as to the neck area; rubber water collars; plastic pneumatic collars; and tissue drying via heat application.
Additionally, obese cadavers present special problems because oftentimes they are in an excessively edematous condition, so that when the body reclines at death, the weight of the flesh causes it to hang down in unnatural, unlifelike positions that are especially difficult to correct during the embalming process.
None of the above techniques has been shown to solve adequately the above-described problems that are encountered when a mortician endeavors to maintain and/or restore a normal, lifelike appearance to the deceased person in preparation for the final viewing.
Thus, a need exists for an improved body positioning device and method that can be used before, during, and after the embalming process in order to maintain and/or restore a cadaver to a conformation substantially normal to lifetime appearance before, during, and after the embalming process.